Are you a glass half empty or a glass half full?
I’m sure we all know the people who respond to difficulties with positivity and calm whereas others overthink and spiral into negativity. The difference is all about resilience.
The definition of resilience is the capacity to recover from difficulties. Although it’s often referred to as ‘bouncing back’ it often feels more like a climbing a mountain than a simple bounce.
Why do people’s level of resilience vary so much?
It’s a combination of factors such as genetics, conditioning, and experiences, but resilience is definitely something you can develop or build.
All of us will have struggled at points during this pandemic, whether it’s to do with money, health, freedom, loneliness, or fear. I know at times my thinking has gone off and I’ve had to dig deep to pull it back.
So, how can you build your resilience during Covid?
1. Reflect on your past resilience.
When have you previously had to deal with a difficult problem in your work or life? How did you manage it, and what did you learn? Perhaps you found talking to certain people or exercising lifted your thinking.
2. Know your strengths and use them.
Identify what you know to be the skills and behaviours you are strong in. When things are difficult, consider how you can use those strengths to cope with the problem. If you’re a good collaborator can you turn to your network when things are tough? Perhaps you’re a problem solver? That’s a great skill in these times to come up with out of the box ideas.
3. Prioritise the things you can control.
Covid has meant that a lot of things on life have become out of our control but worrying about what you can’t control will only make you feel powerless. Focus on those things you can influence instead.
4. Practise self-care.
By self-care, I mean looking after your emotional and physical self as a priority. It might be about your sleep, your diet, ‘me time’ or diving into your hobbies to give you some time away from your stresses. What small changes can you put in place to show yourself care?
5. Embrace change.
The reality is that in today’s world, change is continually happening. Whether it’s lockdown restrictions, salary cuts, redundancy or working in different ways, you need to be flexible to life’s surprises. Although plans changing or being completely dropped is frustrating, keeping a positive outlook to the future will help you bounce back. You can practise this both in and outside of work, by developing patience, understanding and reflecting on when you have previously shown resilience.
If you’re struggling with the changes in your life at the moment and would like to learn some more strategies for resilience do get in touch with me here or book a free call at www.speakwithjo.com
